[tied] Re: The role of analogy, alliteration and sandhi in counting

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Piotr Gasiorowski <gpiotr@...> wrote:

>
> On 2007-05-09 08:15, tgpedersen wrote:
>
> >> I don't think you can take one word as evidence of kW/p variation
> >> related to later changes in IE languages.
> >
> > In this case, I think you can.
> > The akWa/apa alternation recurs in many European river names.
> > W.P. Schmid
> > Alteuropa und das Germanische
> > in
> > Beck(ed.)
> > Germanenprobleme in heutiger Sicht
> > juxtaposes the river names
> > Alpe, NWGerm. Alupe,Lith. / Albæk, Den.
> > Asphe, NWGerm. Asupis, Lith. / Asbæk Den.
> > Gellep, NWGerm. Geldupe, Lith. / Geldbæk, Den.
> > Marpe, NWGerm. Marupe, Lith. / Marbæk, Den.
> > Vidapa, NWGerm. Vidupe, Lith. / Vidå, Den.
> >
> > Elsewhere, Germany has river names in -ach.
>
> Why are you using hydronyms with *-Baki- (*-Bakja-) 'brook' to
> illustrate the *kW ~ *p variation? The "Bach" word has nothing to do
> with *axWo:!

Obviously not. Schmid uses the examples to demonstrate the absence of
apa in Scandinavia, not to demonstrate the presence of akWa (but
Danish has å "brook, river", the word 'flod' "river" is not used for
Danish water courses)

>
> > Reduplication is not productive in IE nominal morphology. It's a
> > verb thing.
>
> Well, productive or not, there are PIE beavers and wheels, arent't
> there? Not that I agree with Sean here, but this particular
> objection is objectionable itself.
>

*kWekWlo- is probably a loan since Semitic has a reduplicated form of
a similar root. That leaves the beaver alone.


Torsten